Obsessed with Klout?

Over the past few weeks, I have been obsessed
with Klout. No, not clout, but Klout — the Web-based
measurement service that gauges just how influential
a person really is in the social sphere of the ’Net.

My interest in Klout, by all accounts, had been mild
up until now. But my score has gone through the virtual
roof in recent weeks, fueling this obsession. That
rise was not caused by my incredibly witty tweets,
nor was it due to my numerous and strangely compelling
Facebook updates. Neither was it because
I’ve quickly managed to build an inordinate number
of new connections through LinkedIn, Tumblr
or Google+.

No, the real reason that my Klout has increased
is a simple one. I actually — finally — connected my
social accounts to the system. For several months or
longer, I had lingered around a wildly depressing and
uninspired Klout score of 12. Okay, it was actually 11
— but who’s counting?

Knowing in my virtual heart of hearts that I was,
in fact, more influential than that forced me to submit
myself fully and completely to the Klout system,
throwing my digital hat in the ring to see how I truly
measured up. As you might imagine, connecting all
your accounts — revealing all of your connections to
the world — can do wonders in terms of boosting
your credibility with Klout.

My number jumped to a far more respectable
score of 56. And there was another benefit — a far
more important one.

Editor's note: you can follow Website Magazine Editor-in-Chief Pete Prestipino on Twitter, Facebook and even Google+.

In the few weeks since my raging Klout obsession
began, I have posted more frequently to Facebook
(doing so at both peak and off times — hint, hint)
and now I engage with the status updates of others
more often, liking and, more importantly, commenting
on what is shared by my friends and followers.
Even though some of them, by the way, have ridiculously
low Klout scores.

I have reintroduced myself to Twitter (although, I
must admit, my hectic schedule is not always tweetfriendly),
and now I make a genuine effort to retweet
what I believe my own followers would find interesting
or entertaining. I try to balance that with a few
interesting highlights from my own life — both personal
and professional, of course — along with my
newfound commitment to using the platform as a
way to complain or congratulate other people and
companies for a job well done.

But that’s not all. Google+, the social network I
once thought was good only for shoring up search results
positions, has also seen an influx of activity from
me — as have both my LinkedIn and Tumblr profiles.
I have to admit, I’ve gained more from these networks
than I ever thought possible in the form of new friendships
as well as exposure to ideas and information.

Needless to say, my increased participation has
been well worth the investment of time. But I’m not
done yet — not by a long shot.

As I have become more focused on engaging in
activities that I likely should have been doing all
along, my Klout score has slowly — very slowly, actually
— inched upward. Who would have thought
that by committing to more and deeper social connections
you can develop and increase your Klout
(and clout)?

Make no mistake; I know that true “reach” and
“influence” is nearly impossible to measure. I have
seen firsthand where those with incredibly high Klout
scores in the 70- and 80-point range couldn’t influence
me to drink a glass of lemonade on a hot day.
But for me, my Klout score is less about others and
more about me — what I can become, what I want to
become, what I will become.

I check my Klout score every morning — sometimes
even before I get out of bed. It is now a constant
reminder for me that what we are is not what we
will become.

It requires a commitment to increase your Klout
score as much as it does to improve you life. But in
the end, the commitment is worth it.